Ideas for a 4 Year Old Birthday at Home???

Last year, for my son's 4th birthday, I blew up a bunch of balloons-at least 40 or 50 and had them all over the floor. It seems like so many, but could have had more, really. The kids loved it. I had other games and crafts, but by far, the balloons were the hit. It was so easy and cheap and kept them occupied for a long time.

Good luck!

Arts is great but here's a game that might be easier for little kids.
We had a luau for a co. picnic and every kid got a prize in a musical chair type of game. The only difference was the kids walked around a circle of numbers and when the music stopped a number was pulled and then the kid on that number won and drew a number for a prize. (The prizes could be numbered the same as the circle numbers too.) It could be a tiny little prize, since you said you were on a budget. A party store had 11 bubbles for about $7. Or they could even get a handful of candy or animal crackers.
It was really fun!!! It worked even for my 1 year old although I had to walk with him.
It was based an a "cake walk," although I don't know what really what that version is. Maybe someone else does? We didn't have a cake, so we did it how I explained above.

What I hope to do for my next bday party is have a crayola party. Get a bunch of paper and line the bottom half of our walls, have buckets with markers, crayons, chalks(maybe paint...depending how daring I feel) and have them do some art. If it is nice, have some sidewalk chalk outside. Maybe make everyone a smock as a gift to put over their party clothes(just get some cheap fleece, fold it over and cut a hole for the head...)
Food:get scrapbook paper and wrap it into a funnel and tape it, fill it with popcorn, chips or whatever; make fruit or veggie kabobs; keep everything easy and "fingerfood." Kids just love to have fun and play together. I tried a big theme with scheduled games and such and it was quite stressful. the next party was just relaxed and the kids(and parents)had more fun.

Hi H.,
It's great to have some organization ahead of time for sure.
Last May our daughter with her two boys arrived from Alaska to join us as we celebrated grandsons birthday's together. Altogether we had a 5, 4 and 2 year old. She brought stomp rockets and all the kids took turns, having a blast. Even the adults loved them. We had two sets and you could hardly pull the kids off these. http://www.thinkfasttoys.com/home.php?cat=1112&gclid=... You can get them elsewhere, but here you can see what they are. If you didn't have any other game this would be enough backyard fun, this and maybe some bubbles to blow.
We went to a park that had a shelter to keep out of the sun while having our pizza and homemade large Car sugar cookies, decorated by the grandma's to look like colorful volkswagens. The park playground equipment kept them busy too with all the kids there. You don't need a lot of money to have a great party especially for kids. Have fun.

My son's 4th birthday last year we had 1 game - $3 at the Party Store - Stick the Nose On the Clown - it was hilarious watching the kids try to cheat and peek around the blindfold! The rest of the time they just played and ate - I served lunch and then cake. We only invited my son's closest friends. We had a lot of baloons - no helium - and they had fund drawing faces on them with markers and just goofing around in general. This year we'll have to go a little bit fancier - I'm thinking about a small jump house thing that can fit in our garage if the weather doesn't cooperate. OR my other idea is a clown that does baloon animals and little magic tricks. I'll be 8 months pregnant at the time so no lunch this year just a cake and snacks - and if the weather is nice they are eating the cake in the backyard! I cleaned up blue frosting for 2 weeks last year - it was the ADULTS that made the worst mess! I'm also boycotting the goodie bags - too much expense and work to assemble and the parents complained about the noise makers and kids with younger siblings couldn't take home some of the smaller items for fear the baby would eat them. I am thinking since my son's birthday is just before Halloween to give out a glow-in-the-dark safety thing to take Trick-or-Treating instead of the usual bag of cheap toys and candy. Party Hearty!

hot potatoe works well for this age. What we do is as soon as the child gets caught with the hot potatoe, We have them get up and get a small toy or candy out of the sack- that way the kids wont feel bad about being put out of the game. The final child left gets the grand prize.

The fishing game is always a hit. Put up a blue piece of fabric, or decorate a large piece of cardboard to look like ocean waves, (open up a refidgerator box- free at appliance stores) and have the kids stand in line to take a turn fishing- have your husband hiding behind the ocean hooking prizes into the pole.

H.,

I don't know if you have a large backyard or not, but you could set up a tent or canopy and have different stations for the kids to go to with projects. Since its in Oct, you could do bobbing for apples, decorating mini pumpkins, have all the kids dress up in costumes and take a group picture give all the kids a copy. Those are my thoughts-- hope you get a lot of responses!

Molly

Hi,

Rent a Jumper or hire a clown/puppet show guy and have a blast!!!

Cheers

What a great time to have a costume party! You can have a parade, pin the mask on the superhero (You can draft one on butcher paper or poster board and cut "masks" out of construction paper in all sorts of colors!), balloon volley (put two balloons in the air and tell the kids to not let the balloons touch the floor - this is a giggly game! After a test round add a balloon, then another for the 4th birthday!) - this will eat up about an hour. You need the first 30 minutes to meet and great, 45 minutes of "games" and be flexible on doing them all, and the rest for cake and ice cream. Don't recommend opening gifts in front of the guests at that age!

HAVE FUN!

How about 'going fishing'? My mom did this for a birthday party or two when I was younger and I just did it for my nephew's bday last October. It was a huge hit! (you can customize this to make it go with any theme) Use a sheet as your 'pond'. Have the kids line up behind the sheet, with a helper behind the sheet. Each kid then gets a turn to 'fish' by throwing their fishing line (a hook or clothespin strung to a broomstick, for example) over the sheet. Person behind the sheet attaches either a goodie bag or some sort of prize to the end of the fishing line and then the kid reels in their line. We had old shoes, empty cans and broken toys that we would throw in for fun also. Some kids would reel in junk a couple of times before finally reeling in their prize. It was a huge hit and it seemed to take up a good chunk of time- plus it was something a bit different. We decorated the sheet with paper fish and seaweed but you can imagine what else you could do if you wanted to make it go with the party theme.

Have a balloon guy/girl come and make balloon shapes for the kids. This is great because they get to pick what they want.

We always used the backyard when the kids were little, but even if you have inclement weather, you can move these games inside. For four year olds, I suggest a pirate party. Get plastic swords, eye patches, and bandanas (Oriental Trading Co. online is a great resource.) Set up a ladder with a sheet over it for a sail boat. Have a treasure hunt with clues and chocolate coin candy in a box for the treasure. Tell a pirate story, including lots of "ARRGHS" and "Thar she blows"-type yelling. If you are outdoors, have a pinata, except have it be attacked by a sword fight. Have a message in the bottle game. Have a "boat race" with toy sailboats in a tub of water.

Good luck.

Regards,
L.

Ask your son to pick a theme? For example if he is into Spiderman, then google birthday party ideas (there is a specific website by this name).
The parties are arranged by theme and age so you could look up Spiderman Party for a 4 year old. Other mom's write in with ideas they used on parties for their kids.
I've found a lot of great ideas on this site and we have most of our parties at home.

Hi There! For 2-4 year olds, I've found it works well to have a variety of "stations" where kids can do different projects with their parents' help. Simple things like stringing Froot Loops on pipe cleaners to make a bracelet, stickers to decorate a hat or crown, cookies to decorate, etc. Whatever they make can be the party favor. One year we did a Noah's Ark party and I pre-cut out boats out of brown paper. Then I tinted Elmers glue with blue, so that the kids could "paint" the water, then stick on all kinds of animal foam figures and some colored pipe cleaners for a rainbow. Lots of t-shirts were provided for smocks. It was simple because there was only one color, lots of stuff to stick, and the shirts could be pulled off and thrown in the washer. I know a number of the kids kept their Noah's Arks on their fridges for a long time!

H., we always have our parties at home, and it always works out really well! If you have a theme picked out, you can google search that theme and there will be links to decorating ideas, printable activities, and games based on that theme. For the kids' ages, you can also search preschool worksheets and find good stuff to keep them busy.

Here's what our party usually looks like: We get a helium canister from Target and fill the baloons to decorate the living room. Crepe paper streamers are also a cheap decoration that looks instantly festive. We set up a folding table and chairs there and set out crayons and coloring sheets based on the theme. We also sort through the kids' toys for ones that fit the theme and put a laundry basket full of those toys in the living room. When all the guests have arrived, we have a lunch or hearty snack. Next, we have an active game or two (like a race or relay). Finally it is time for cake and presents. Usually I have the party for three hours or so, and we haven't ever run out of stuff to do. My kids like having their friends over and usually are happy to play without much guidance and direction.

Cakes can be easy, too. Just get a couple cheap-y toys and add sprinkles to the top of the cake. Instant magic for a four year old! Have fun :)

why not have a "dirt" party, inside.
Make chocolate cake, have them search for gummy worms in broken up brownies in a bowl, dunk for apples, etc.
Do a tresure hunt
put on some music and have a dance party.

Or just invite them and their parents and let the kids play.....they're young, they'll findtons of stuff to do.

good luck

I was the room mom for my preschool daughter's class last year, so I know a little about throwing 4 year old parties! We had some very successful crafts, but by far their favorite was cookie decorating. I'd make a bunch of cookies (obviously for October, pumpkin or ghost shapes are popular), make a couple colors of brightly hued frosting, and a bunch of sprinkles or other types of decoration. Cover the table with butcher paper or plastic tablecloth, put smocks on them, and let them go crazy. (Word to the wise - it's best to give each kid their own little cup of frosting because they will lick their knife and then stick it back in the frosting... ugh) It's great for a birthday party because you can put a candle in the birthday kid's cookie and there you go - no cake necessary.

The other thing the kids LOVED was the "grass man" craft. You can google it, but basically you make a little "person" out of a knee-high nylon, potting soil, grass seeds and googly eyes. It's cheap, fun, and they get to take it home with them (party favor!).

Have fun!